


Buttons

by valisi



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Canon Universe, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-02
Updated: 2017-03-02
Packaged: 2018-09-27 22:03:53
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,361
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10053416
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/valisi/pseuds/valisi
Summary: This is forwinglysimmerwho requested Levi stealing Erwin's shirt in public without explanation.





	

Erwin had woken up early to finish some paperwork that he had neglected the night before. His eyelids had been too heavy to continue reading the report, but he told himself that he would wake up early to finish it.

That’s why it felt like such an inconvenience when someone knocked on his door. Erwin rolled his eyes a moment, put the report down and leaned back in his chair.

“Come in,” Erwin called out. His intuition tingled with anxiety before Hange even opened the door all of the way.

“Good morning, Erwin,” she said cheerfully. Erwin gave her a half smile.

“Good morning, Hange. How can I help you?” he asked. When she fully approached his desk, he saw that her smile looked a little strained.

“I just need to know something,” Hange said. Erwin’s eyebrows furrowed because the tone of her voice was strange. “How many Team Leaders did you approve for leave this week?” Erwin raised his eyebrows because he had honestly forgotten. He pushed some of the messy paperwork around on his desk and found the leather bound calendar book where he kept the leave schedule. Leaning forward in his chair to focus, Erwin flipped through the book to the current week and looked at it. He closed his eyes, raised his right hand and rubbed his forehead with the heel. He couldn’t believe that he had actually done it.

“Too many of them,” Erwin said quietly. He closed the book roughly and looked up at Hange. The Survey Corps always needed more soldiers, but he had been too generous with leave for the supervisors. Maybe the stress of gaining funds had gotten to him finally. Erwin looked up at Hange and felt instant discomfort when he saw her smiling. “What?”

“Well, Mike’s sick today too,” Hange said. Erwin laughed with disbelief.

“Really?” Erwin asked, still not believing his bad luck, his stupid mistake. Hange nodded.

“And there’s a whole squad outside who needs a leader for PT and training today,” Hange said with a smile. Erwin laughed harder, because if he didn’t laugh, the stupidity of the mistake would drive him further towards insanity. He put an elbow on his chair, and covered his mouth with his hand, half embarrassed but also amused at all of it. He had been Commander for years, and still could not avoid mistakes on or off the battlefield. At least this time, there had been no casualties. Erwin stood from his desk, pushing his chair back, adjusting his uniform.

“How is Mike sick?” Erwin asked as he began to lead the way out of the office.

“Upper respiratory congestion,” Hange said. “He thinks he’s dying. I thought he was going to cry when he couldn’t smell his breakfast.” Erwin nodded, believing that it was absolutely true. Seeing Mike without the ability of smell was an experience that included too much guilty laughter. Erwin and Hange walked out of the officer’s building together and made their way over to the PT field.

On the field, there was an entire squad of soldiers, broken up into their sections, patiently waiting for someone to lead them in their exercises. Erwin and Hange parted ways, and Erwin stood in front of the squad, looking them over. He saw the way that some of them stood up a bit straighter, and a few of the younger soldiers looked very worried. Then, they all seemed to come to their senses at once, and the entire squad saluted simultaneously. Erwin couldn’t blame them for the delay. It was highly irregular to see him on the PT field. He exercised privately or with other officers, mostly Levi.

“At ease,” Erwin instructed. A few of the sleepy-eyed soldiers looked relieved. “Good morning, squad,” Erwin announced loudly, using the same voice that he used to recruit the soldiers in the first place. The handful of soldiers that still looked half asleep visibly opened their eyes wider, focusing. “I’ll be leading your exercises this morning. We’ll start by warming up with lunges, we’ll run the perimeter of the officer’s building twenty times-” Erwin heard a gasp in the crowd, and he paused. When it didn’t seem that there would be a riot, he continued. “We’ll finish with push-ups, sit-ups, chin-ups. Spread out, right face!” The entire squad followed the order in unison, and Erwin felt the pride swell in his chest. They were so well trained. Erwin faced right, and he began the lunges for the squad.

******

The morning had been productive. Erwin purposely made the exercise a bit more difficult than it had to be, and his squad finished last. The facial expressions that he saw in response to his exercise routine was interesting. The session wasn’t any more difficult than the soldiers had experienced during their three years of training. But a few of them had been out of training long enough that they had gotten comfortable with easy morning routines. The response was mixed. A few soldiers took it as a competition with the Commander, and attempted to perform better than Erwin in every phase of the routine. Some of them seemed to purposely be falling behind together in protest, but a few encouraging words seemed to help with that. It wasn’t often that he had the time to simply spend around the soldiers that he led every day, and Erwin thought it was really pleasant. A few times, he fantasized about how it would have been to not be promoted to Commander and maintaining the rank of Squad Leader for the rest of his career. He knew it was a selfish daydream.

His favorite part of the day was eating lunch in the mess hall with his Squad. He hadn’t visited the mess hall since he became Commander. It was more convenient to eat at his desk. Hange ate in the mess hall every day, but Levi was no where to be found. Erwin knew that Levi hadn’t eaten in the mess hall for many years though. But Erwin enjoyed being around the soldiers when they were most comfortable. He enjoyed hearing the friendly banter between them.

After lunch, all of the energy that had been put into morning PT was restored, and the soldiers made quick work of assembling their 3DMG. When the squad convened again, Erwin realized that he was excited. Typically when he saw his soldiers fully equipped, their faces were prepared for war or stricken with fear. This time, they seemed to be determined or having fun.

“Squad,” Erwin announced loudly. “You did well this morning.” Erwin paused to let the message sink in for them. “Our objective for training today is simple. We’re going to race through the training grounds, from this point where we are standing to the exact opposite point on the other side. All of you will finish the race. Whoever has the most gas in their tanks at the end will win.”

“What’s the prize?” a voice asked behind Erwin. He furrowed his eyebrows, but he recognized the voice instantly. And every pair of eyes in his squad rose above his head. Erwin turned around slowly, smiling. Levi was on one of the lowest branches of the tree behind Erwin, looking down on him with complete disinterest. But Erwin could read Levi so well. He saw the gray eyes flash over him quickly.

“Hello, Captain,” Erwin said. He wondered how long Levi had been there.

“You can’t have a race without a prize,” Levi insisted. Erwin chuckled softly.

“Of course, you’re right,” Erwin said. “Did you want to bring your squad here and join the race?”

“No,” Levi said. “They’re hunting for my knife that I hid in the woods. They’ll be a while, and I’m bored.”

“Oh,” Erwin said. He frowned. “How is that training with 3DMG, Levi?” Levi’s eyelids fell slightly with irritation.

“I hid it using 3DMG,” Levi explained, a hint of irritation from being questioned. Erwin smiled, nodding. The squad would have a very difficult time finding that knife then. Levi could’ve hidden it in the tallest tree or simply rose high above the trees and threw it randomly. It could take the squad all day. That’s when Erwin heard whispers behind his back. He had shown too much familiarity with Levi once more.

“The award will be a meal for three from any civilian restaurant within the Trost district, paid for with my own money,” Erwin said. The gentle whispering from behind his back suddenly raised to a low murmur. Levi raised his gaze from Erwin’s position, and looked at the squad. They quietened instantly.

“Alright,” Levi said. He dropped from the limb of the tree down next to Erwin. Commander and Captain turned back to the squad. All of the soldiers saluted, understanding that they were about to receive the regulations of the race and instructions.

“You may interfere with another soldier’s speed as long as it does not cause bodily harm or damage to their equipment. You may not disable another soldier’s equipment,” Erwin instructed. “Any questions?”

“What about blades?” Levi asked. Erwin looked to his right, down at Levi.

“There’s no need,” Erwin said.

“There’s nothing wrong with it as long as damage and injury are avoided,” Levi said. Levi looked up and met Erwin’s eyes. Erwin didn’t know what Levi was planning, but he did like a little mischief occasionally. Erwin looked away and back at the squad.

“Blades are allowed for interference,” Erwin said. “Any injury to a fellow soldier or damage to equipment will result in reprimand and punishment which will be assigned by Captain Levi.” Erwin watched as a few faces in the crowd blanched to a lighter color. “Questions?” he asked so firmly that a soldier startled in place. No other questions were presented. “Spread out and prepare for launch.” The squad followed the order. Erwin turned around, and he and Levi separated a bit. Erwin pulled the bladeless handles of his equipment free and began adjusting. He heard the sounds of adjustments from behind him, and he waited until it sounded like most were prepared. “Go!”

The sound of so many 3DMG anchors launching at once echoed through the forest. Levi launched from the ground in a cloud of gas, and Erwin did a soft launch instead. He shook his head. Levi was definitely planning on losing the race, but Erwin didn’t know why. Erwin shot to the right, and Levi went left. He mostly planned on watching the race and making sure that interference didn’t get out of hand. He had offered a very serious prize. Young soldiers didn’t get the opportunity to treat themselves to Trost restaurants very often. Not because they were expensive, but soldiers of the Survey Corps were given a unfortunately small salary.

Erwin enjoyed flying through the forest. Some of the soldiers seemed to be taking their time, which was exactly what he intended. A few of them had only heard the word “race” and seemed to be trying to reach the end first. Erwin watched all of them while he flew through the trees. When he saw the competition wasn’t going to be as fierce as he expected, he began to simply enjoy the feeling of flying through the air.

That’s when Erwin heard the sound of someone moving closer to him. When he looked to his right, Levi was flying towards him, blades drawn. Surprise flooded his mind because he knew for a fact that he saw Levi go to the left. Erwin frowned, not appreciating the interruption. But there was nothing he could do. He was almost at the end of his cables. Erwin pulled his anchors from the trees. While he was suspended in the air between shots, Levi flew towards him faster, and in a movement so fast that Erwin’s eye could not follow it, he saw Levi’s blade come dangerously close to his torso. Erwin leaned back to try and avoid it, but he had to anchor again. He chose to shoot his anchors instead of fully pulling away from Levi’s attack.

“Levi!” Erwin called out. Instead of the full weapon, Erwin only felt a brush against his shirt, and Levi was gone again in an instant, spinning until he was out of view once more.  
When Erwin anchored again fully, he looked down and saw that Levi had cut off every single button of his shirt. The loose halves were waving in the wind, definitely slowing him down, and making a loud flapping noise. Erwin reached the end of his cables again, and he landed on a tree branch. He looked down at his ruined shirt and sighed with irritation. Lifting his eyes, Erwin saw a bunch of soldiers flying by slowly, staring at him in confusion.

Erwin didn’t want to continue to move through the forest with a buttonless shirt. He pulled off his jacket, dropping it, and began pulling off his shirt from under the leather straps of his equipment. While he was doing this, another set of the squad flew by, and he saw a few soldiers from Levi’s squad, who were desperately searching for the missing knife, stop and watch with wide eyes.

“Focus on your tasks!” Erwin ordered loudly, and all of the soldiers turned their attention elsewhere. Once his shirt was completely off, unwrapped from the straps of his equipment, and pulled free from the waist and belt of his trousers, Erwin draped the shirt over his arm. Left only in his white, sleeveless undershirt, Erwin rolled the shirt up and set it on the limb of the tree. When he leaned down to grab his jacket, he heard the sound of 3DMG headed towards him. Erwin looked up just in time to see Levi fly by, grab his rolled up shirt, and fly away, looking back at Erwin with a triumphant smile. “Damn it, Levi!” Erwin instantly heard the sound of laughter in the forest, and his face flushed with embarrassment and anger. The laughter was stopped short, and a few painful moans replaced the sound. He briefly heard Levi’s raised voice.   

Flustered beyond words, Erwin threw his jacket back on and shot his anchors, flying through the forest, no longer interested in watching the soldiers or enjoying the ride. He couldn’t believe Levi’s audacity.

On the other side of the forest, almost all of the soldiers were waiting for him. He landed near them and faced the forest, arms crossed, still irritated beyond words. It didn’t take long for the rest of the soldiers to show up to the finish line, and Erwin began inspecting their gas tanks, making firm eye contact with each soldier to keep their eyes off his nearly bare torso. The thin cotton of his undershirt was a poor substitute for the thick fabric of his usual attire. One young woman couldn’t seem to take her eyes off of his abdominal area until he directly addressed her. Thankfully, his jacket covered up his exposed arms and shoulders. A young man named Omar won the contest. He instantly chose his two best friends to go with him. That did improve Erwin’s mood a bit, only to see their happiness.

Erwin led the squad back to the headquarters and dismissed them for their final meal and free time before sundown. He told the winner of the race that they could discuss the restaurant the next day. Then, Erwin marched his way back to his quarters to get another shirt to wear for the rest of the night.

When Erwin entered his quarters, he closed the door behind himself and stopped when he saw a shirt laying on the bed. He walked over to his bed quietly and picked up the shirt. It was new, freshly washed. There was a folded piece of paper under the shirt. Erwin picked up the slip of paper and opened it.

> _
> 
> You needed a new shirt anyway. - Levi
> 
> _

Erwin dropped the note back onto the bed and shrugged out of his jacket. He put on the new shirt, buttoned it up, tucked it into his trousers.   Even if Levi had provided a new shirt in place of the old one, he still needed to explain to Levi how embarrassing and rude it had been to bully him that way in front of subordinates. It was a punishable offense even. But Erwin felt like Levi might have a real reason. Maybe it was a new type of training that Levi was trying to develop. Maybe Levi thought it had been a fun game. Erwin wanted to know. After putting his jacket back on, Erwin hurried from his quarters and through the hallway to Levi’s room. He paused at the door and knocked.

The was a clatter on the other side of the door, and Erwin frowned.

“Levi?” he asked, concerned.

“Wait a fucking second!” Levi ordered. Erwin heard fumbling, but he couldn’t imagine what was happening on the other side of the door.

After a few more tense moments and the sound of fiddling with the lock, Levi opened the door, poorly put together, his hair mussed. Erwin stepped forwards, to walk into the room, but Levi put a hand out, pressing it against Erwin’s chest, and stopped him.   Erwin tilted his head with a grin.

“Thank you for the new shirt,” Erwin said. “But what you did earlier-”

“I know,” Levi said. “I won’t do it again.”  

“But why did you do it?” Erwin asked. Levi shook his head, shrugging, dropping his gaze to Erwin’s new shirt.

“I wanted to make the race more interesting,” Levi said, but it was a hasty response. It didn’t make much sense. Erwin took the time to look at Levi from his mussed hair, to his rumpled shirt, and his trousers which weren’t even buttoned, just zipped. Erwin wasn’t sure if his observation was correct, but he thought that he saw heat in Levi’s cheeks, running down his neck. Levi took his hand away from Erwin’s chest, realizing that it had been there too long, and Erwin made an attempt to step into the room again. Levi looked back up at him. “Stop. What do you want?”

“Is everything alright?” Erwin asked with a soft smile that Levi found infuriating.

“Everything’s fine, Erwin, get back to work,” Levi snapped.

“I should take the time to explain how mortified I was earlier today,” Erwin insisted.

“No. I’m fucking sorry, okay? Just go,” Levi said. Erwin furrowed his eyebrows, still smiling slightly, but also suspicious. The blush in Levi’s cheeks deepened. He was embarrassing Levi too somehow. Levi never apologized so quickly, if ever. Erwin took a few steps back, giving Levi plenty of room.

“I’m going back to my office,” Erwin said. Levi nodded and he watched Erwin turn to leave.

“I’ll bring tea later,” Levi said quickly before slamming his door and locking it again. He turned and pressed his back to the wood of the door, leaning his head back until it made contact, closing his eyes. It was all so stupid. He felt so stupid.

Levi lifted his head up, opened his eyes, and looked at Erwin’s shirt piled up on his bed. It was stupid, but it had been worth it. Having Erwin’s scent while he touched himself had given him the best orgasm he had in his life. Fantasizing wasn’t enough anymore. He wanted a physical thing, and he could’ve broken into Erwin’s quarters. But he only tried that once, and it felt so wrong to be in Erwin’s room without permission. Levi didn’t appreciate secrets. So he had to take something, publicly, in clear view. Unfortunately, it had embarrassed Erwin, and that was pretty shitty. But Erwin didn’t hold grudges. Not for attempted murder, and not for shirt theft. Levi knew that a new shirt would smooth it over. If an apology was necessary, he was willing to do it.

The smell in the shirt wouldn’t last forever though. Levi sighed and walked across the room to his bed. He lifted the shirt to his face, nuzzled into the soft cotton.

“Idiot,” Levi whispered to himself. He hoped the stupid crush would just end already.


End file.
